Ever heard of the ‘Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order’? You most likely haven’t, at least not yet. But if all goes to plan, it will soon become the world’s smallest microstate — a ...

Albania's Prime Minister wants to give a state and nationhood -- similar to the Vatican in Italy -- to a Muslim minority within the country.

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama is considering granting sovereign state status to the world headquarters of Bektashism, a ...

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has announced plans to transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims into a sovereign state. On Sunday, he spoke at the United Nations ...

The mini state, whose territory will consist of around 0.1 square kilometers, is planned to be the “Vatican” of the Shi’ite Bektashi Sufi order. BABA MONDI, leader of the Bektashi sect of ...

Behind Edi Rama’s announcement of a Vatican-type ‘microstate’ for the Bektashi movement in Tirana, some critics of his rule see a bid to distract attention from domestic scandals and win ...

The pontiff tends to a billion-strong Catholic flock from the grandeur of Rome. The Bektashi World Centre, squeezed between an industrial estate and some fields being gnawed at by sheep ...

Ever heard of the ‘Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order’? You most likely haven’t, at least not yet. But if all goes to plan, it will soon become the world’s smallest microstate — a ...

(AP Photo/Frank Franklin II) TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said Sunday his country would transform the Tirana-based Bektashi Muslims, an Islamic Sufi order, into a ...